Melbourne Suburbs Dominate Residential Building ‘Hotspots’ List

The Housing Industry Association has released its annual report 2013 Population and Residential Building Hotspots, which showed that nine of the top 20 Australian Residential Building Hotspots are in Melbourne’s suburbs.

For the purposes of the report, the HIA defines a ‘Hotspot’ as an area in which the 2011/12 population growth[1] rate exceeds the national growth rate (1.6 per cent over the year to June 2012) and the value of residential building work approved exceeds certain figures.

Those figures are $100 million in NSW, VIC, and WA; $50 million in QL (down from $100 million last year) and SA; $20 million in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory; and $10 million in Tasmania.

Residential Development in South Morgan, Victoria.

The report also ranked the suburbs on a population growth basis. Victoria once led the charge with nine of the top 20 and four out of the top 10, with some Melbourne suburbs reaching an annual growth rate of 15 per cent.

According to the report, Tarneit[2] in Melbourne’s West ranked fifth, the highest of any Victorian entry. Also in the top 20 were South Morang, Cranbourne East, Melton South, Pakenham South, Point Cook, Epping and Craigieburn.

Aerial View of the new Tarneit Station.

As a result, all growth corridors in Melbourne are experiencing high levels of building growth and population increases.

“Victoria is coming off a boom in population migration and housing starts. This outcome is good, but it it’s not a scratch on what it was during the past couple of years,” said HIA Victoria executive director Gil King.

“Victoria’s building figures however are still the envy of other Australian States, and this can be put down to how favourably our state is viewed in terms of migration.”

The HIA noted that the list differed greatly from last year’s.

“The list of the top 20 Building and Population Hotspots for 2011-12 is considerably different,” the organisation said. “The ACT (Australian Capital Territory) once again took out top spot with Bonner, which doubled its population over the year, reflecting the fact that it is a relatively new suburb.”

HIA Population and Residential Building Hotspots.

While last year the hotspots were predominantly located around Melbourne’s urban fringes, this year there are two inner suburbs – Southbank and Melbourne – in the top 20, reflecting a persistent strength and growing demand for the high-density housing market.

The report also shows a great improvement in NSW that elevated two regions – Parklea, Kellyville Ridge (number 13) and Homebush Bay, Silverwater (number 18) – onto the top 20 list, after failing to claim a single spot on last year’s list.

[1]Hyperlink to http://sourceable.net/overseas-migration-accounts-for-half-of-australian-population-growth/

[2]Hyperlink to http://sourceable.net/work-well-underway-on-regional-rail-link/